Agenda item

To submit a joint report by the Head of Regulation and Economic Development and Head of Highways, Waste and Property.

The report of the Head of Regulation and Economic Development incorporating the detailed evidence base and key findings of a report commissioned by the Council in relation to improving the reliability and resilience across the Menai Strait was presented for the Executive’s consideration. The detailed evidence base and key findings have been produced by Quod a specialist economics and planning consultancy on behalf of the Isle of Anglesey County Council to support the Council’s submission to the North Wales Transport Commission on the need for an improved multi-modal crossing of the Menai Strait.

The report was presented by Councillor Dafydd Rhys Thomas, Portfolio Member for Highways, Waste and Property. The North Wales Transport Commission (NWTC) established by Welsh Government acknowledges in a Progress Statement in January 2023 that North Wales is reliant on private vehicles and that a lack of attractive or realistic transport alternatives is contributing towards the dependency on private vehicles and limiting social, economic, and cultural connections. For Anglesey the position is worse with congestion and lack of resilience for the Menai crossings severely limiting and negatively impacting on social, economic, educational, health and cultural connections to and from the rest of the country. Further, it is hampering the Island’s ability to attract the business and economic activity it needs to reduce a cycle of job losses, lower on-Island employment and increasing reliance on off-Island jobs. Repair works to the Menai Bridge coupled with the occurrence of accidents on the Britannia Bridge have in recent months caused severe disruption. An unreliable road network could also affect Anglesey’s positioning as the optimal location for nuclear industry investment as well as the competitiveness of the Port of Holyhead recently designated a Freeport. There is a real risk that the Freeport cannot maximise its effectiveness because of the uncertainty and the lack of resilience of the transport network to and from the Island. The Welsh Government’s decision as recommended by the Roads Review Panel to cancel the proposed Third Menai crossing will exacerbate the challenges faced by the Island’s economy and hinder the successful implementation of key policies that seek to rebuild its employment base and reduce the need of its residents to leave the Island to work.

The NWTC released an interim report in June 2023 but is welcoming further evidence until 28 July 2023 before issuing its final recommendations. It is imperative that the Council inputs into and influences the outcome of the report.  To that end the Council commissioned Quod to prepare a detailed evidence base to support its submission to the NWTC on the need for an improved multi-modal crossing of the Menai Strait. The evidence base and key findings arising from it are included as Annexes A and B to the report respectively and they confirm the concerns around the lack of reliability of the road network and bridges and its wider impact and that it extends beyond simple efficiency savings on journey times. The outcome of the NWTC’s interim June report highlights several possible options for improving the situation as listed in the report. The Council has considered these options previously and is of the view that they will not sufficiently address the lack of resilience that exists. It is hoped that the submission of the evidence base will enable the NWTC to better understand the continuing issues of how a lack of a resilient transport network and sustainable transport options is affecting Anglesey and its residents across economic, health, education, social leisure, and investment legacy impacts.

The Head of Regulation and Economic Development referred to concerns about the reliability of the Menai crossings in relation to a wide range of activities and interests. The Regulation and Economic Development Service is now engaged in extensive work in connection with developing the Anglesey Freeport Programme and the risk to the success of the Freeport posed by the lack of resilience of the two crossings and the related issues of congestion, delays and disruption needs to be noted. The Head of Highways, Waste and Property confirmed that a lack of resilience rather than increasing capacity is the primary concern with accidents and bad weather leading at times to severe congestion. Additionally the existing provision does not offer any suitable opportunities for cycling or walking.

Members of the Executive acknowledged the seriousness and urgency of the situation and the resulting impacts if the issues of reliability and resilience are not addressed. They recognised the frequent challenges faced by Anglesey residents and visitors in trying to go about their day-to-day business when accidents, maintenance or bad weather cause disruption and delays on the Menai crossings and recounted examples of the same from their own experiences. They expressed particular concern about the impact the unreliability of the road connections across the Menai is having on emergency service vehicles and on care and health workers who need to attend to vulnerable clients, and they recognised also that it is problematic for trade and businesses on the Island, for schools and for potential investors as well as for tourism as a significant contributor to the Anglesey economy. Although the Executive did not disagree with Welsh Government’s drive to reduce carbon emissions in response to climate change and environmental concerns and understood the consequent review of road building projects, Executive Members emphasised that the situation on Anglesey is exceptional in that the connection problems with the two ageing bridges have far reaching impacts and are affecting lives and livelihoods as well as presenting a risk to the future economic prosperity of the Island and as such they require a more radical remedy than those proposed. In any case the traffic gridlock that incidents on the bridges cause is likely contributing to environmental damage and worsening carbon emissions.

The Chief Executive said that the current situation is unsatisfactory and that the Council is asking Welsh Government to reconsider its policy position and to not view the Menai connection as the same as any other road in the country. The Council has been engaging with other public bodies and organisations across the region on this matter and it is important to note that the evidence collected is a reflection of Anglesey’s needs as an island and not the Council. If the Executive is minded to endorse the evidence, then it will be shared with those organisations for them to lend their support to the effort to persuade the Welsh Government to change its stance.

The Executive was supportive of the report and its findings and the recommendations were accepted with the addition of the Deputy Chief Executive to the second recommendation.

It was resolved –

·      To endorse the report and its conclusion that Welsh Government should not view the Menai Crossing as a simple road project and adopt a positive policy position which recognises the critical need to improve the reliability and resilience of the Menai Straits.

·      To delegate authority to the Chief Executive or in his absence the Deputy Chief Executive to submit the Council’s evidence base to the North Wales Transport Commission ahead of the July 28^th 2023 deadline.